Pi in group computations

[io587]

I want to use my Raspberry Pi 3 to contribute to Seti@Home, which has been working, but it approaches dangerous temperatures, even with a pair of heatsinks installed. I've been considering getting a small fan to help cool it down. Are fans effective combined with heatsinks?

[Burngate]

Are fans effective combined with heatsinks?

The original problem is to move heat from the silicon into cool air, and to replace the warmed air with fresh cool air.

The silicon is protected by ceramic, with low surface area. Only air in direct contact gets warmed.
Also, convection is the only means of moving the air.

Increasing the surface area by using a heatsink solves the first part.
Using a fan solves the second.
Using both solves both.